obama and congress can not agree on a stopgap measure, automatic hikes and spending cuts will hit americans jan 1. peter doocy live in washington with more on this peter, what is the latest? >> reporter: gregg, the president said on friday he would see it this week and maybe if lawmakers went back to home districts to drink eggnog and eat cookies and sing christmas carols maybe they would be more in touch with the hardship so many americans are going to face if the fiscal cliff is not avoided. >> there is a mismatch right now between how everybody else is thinking about these problems. democrats and republicans, outside of this town and how folks are operating here and we've just got to get that aligned. >> reporter: the president's wife and daughters are going to stay in hawaii to continue vacationing. we're told the president may rejoin them or he may not. it all depends on how negotiations progress in the next few days. gregg: well, you know what, peter? there's not lost love between boehner and president obama. are they going to meet? >> reporter: they might, gregg. the speaker is expec